


Coping

by roughlycut



Series: 100 drabbles in 100 days [29]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Drinking, M/M, Multi, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Self-Harm, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-07
Updated: 2016-08-07
Packaged: 2018-08-07 07:48:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7706470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roughlycut/pseuds/roughlycut
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coping, verb<br/>- to face and deal with responsibilities, problems, or difficulties.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coping

They all have different ways of coping.

Steve cleans. He’ll come home from work, upset and stressed out from dealing with a difficult and upsetting case, and instantly starts doing the dishes. If there’s none, he’ll hunt around the apartment for used coffee cups and empty plates. Sometimes it takes 10 minutes of vacuuming untill he’s calmed down enough to grab a beer from the fridge and join Tony on the couch, relaxing and talking about his day as Bucky makes popcorn for movie night. But other times he’s in the bathroom for an hour, just washing his hands, and Bucky has to step in and calm him down enough for him to stop. He’ll make Steve sit on the counter in the kitchen and put band aids on the parts of his hands where the skin has started splitting, reminding him that even though other people’s problems might seem more severe, Steve is allowed to hurt and be comforted, too.

Tony tinkers. He’ll split apart one of the many machines he’s got stashed away in his workroom. Small toy robots, cell phones with missing buttons and cracked screens. A few hours later Tony will present Bucky with an upgraded tablet, able to display holograms, a big proud smile on his face. They’ll sit at the dinner table and take turns on beating each other in quiz-games, as Tony lets off steam about a recent altercation with the new leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. But other times he drinks too. He’ll take a bottle with him down to the basement, just for one drink, while he works on one of his bigger projects. But if he gets too drunk, his fingers fumble with the small wires, and he angrily gives up and move back to a regular project, but forget to turn off the power of an old TV before picking it apart. It’s not until the whole house goes dark that Steve runs down, stumbling across scattered tools and wires, to get to Tony, drunk and curled up in a corner, mumbling about his father. Steve will help him back up the stairs and put him to bed, making sure he’s got water and a bucket next to him, soothingly running his hand over his cheek and telling him he’s proud of him, until he falls asleep.

Bucky practices. He’ll be out in the barn, dealing blows to a punching bag or assembling and disassembling his weapons, making sure they are clean and functioning. When one of the other two comes home they’ll pop their heads in to say hi, sneaking a glimpse of him trying to improve on his climbing skill with one arm, using the ropes hanging from the high ceiling. At dinner he’ll toss a stack of targets on the table, all with a few holes directly in the middle, and smile a rare smile, before sitting down to tell them that he got another rejection for a position he applied for. But other times he practices with his knife, over and over again, flipping and turning it. He’ll exhaust himself, catching the wrong end of the knife, cutting the inside of his palm. Tony will go look for him in the afternoon and find him sitting on the concrete floor, closing his fingers around the blade over and over again, blood seeping through his fingers. He’ll calmly talk Bucky into letting go, propping him up against one of the pillars as he carefully cleans and bandages his hand, reminding him that he’s not alone and that he never will be.

They all have different ways of coping.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a part of my 100 drabbles in a 100 days fic challenge. This is from day 38.  
> The paring I drew for this one was Bucky, Steve & Tony and the word was "coping".  
>   
> If you want to you can read more about the challenge here: [100 drabbles in 100 days challenge](http://silasbatman.tumblr.com/post/145883214882/100-drabbles-in-100-days-challenge)  
>   
> The fics I don't post here on AO3 you can read over at my [tumblr](http://roughlycut.tumblr.com) :)


End file.
